THE DAYS are counting down before Melbourne will open this year’s NAB Cup, when it takes on the Adelaide Crows, followed by Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Friday, February 11.

The Demons will take on the Crows at 7.15pm (EDT) and then play the Power at 8.50 (EDT). The Crows and Power will then play at 9.55pm (EDT). These matches will be broadcast on Fox.

The revamped NAB Cup will feature Gold Coast, which makes its AFL debut in 2011. Greater Western Sydney, which will enter the AFL premiership season in 2012, will have a taste via this year’s NAB Cup.

For the opening round of the NAB Cup, 18 teams will be divided into six groups of three.

Each club will play the other two sides in their group once.

Matches will comprise two 20-minute halves (approximately), played across a three-hour period.

The six winners from each group, along with the two sides with the best records from the remaining teams, will progress to round two.

From there, it will revert to the NAB Cup as we know it via a quarter-final set-up of eight teams, followed by two semi-final matches and then the grand final.

Teams eliminated from rounds one to three of the NAB Cup will be eliminated.

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NAB Cup round one groups and locations:
Friday night, February 11 - Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide and Melbourne (AAMI Stadium)

Saturday night, February 12 - Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond (Etihad Stadium)

Sunday afternoon, February 13 - West Coast Eagles, Fremantle and Hawthorn (Patersons Stadium)

Friday night, February 18 - Essendon, Brisbane Lions and St Kilda (Etihad Stadium)

Sunday, February 20 - Geelong Cats, North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs (Skilled Stadium)